


Allegiance

by Ladderofyears



Series: Drarropoly Founders Edition 2020 [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Blended Friendship Groups, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Commitment, Drarropoly: Founders Edition - A Drarry Game/Fest, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, History of Magic Class (Harry Potter), Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Hogwarts Library, Love Confessions, M/M, Magical Accidents, POV Draco Malfoy, Plans For The Future, Powerful Magic, dragon heartstrings, latin incantations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladderofyears/pseuds/Ladderofyears
Summary: When Draco finds himself accidentally - and irreversibly - bonded with Harry Potter he has to rethink his whole life and everything that he thinks he knows. Draco doesn't expect to find love in the process.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Drarropoly Founders Edition 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039589
Comments: 9
Kudos: 186
Collections: Drarropoly '20: Founders Edition





	Allegiance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iero0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iero0/gifts).



> This story is a Drarropoly fill on the subject of **Dragon Heartstrings**. 
> 
> I decided to use the themes of accidental magic and accidental bonding for this story. 
> 
> I was given the following paragraph as inspiration: _Dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most magic power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental._
> 
> At 4021 words this is a N.E.W.T level story, (which is great news, my team really need those points!)

Harry was humming again. He always made the same little tune – something Muggle, barely audible – and it was only the shyest whisper of a sound.

It was another of the tiny tics that the Chosen One wasn’t even aware of but Draco, over the course of the last nine weeks, had gotten to know intimately. 

The blond wizard closed his copy of _Most Potente Potions_ and slid it across the cracked wood of the library table. He let his eyes rest on his fellow Eighth Year. 

If Harry was humming then whatever Harry was reading had piqued his interest. Draco watched as Harry’s green eyes tracked across the parchment. He was obviously fascinated by his reading material. Had Harry have been bored, he would have been playing with the fraying material on his cuffs or perhaps ticking his palm with the feather of his quill. Harry’s eyes would have been everywhere except on the page.

Draco sighed and tried to pull his eyes away. He had three sides of notes to make on the magic qualities of unicorn horn due first thing tomorrow. Slughorn wouldn’t be chuffed at all were he to fail to produce homework once again. 

When Draco had imagined this awkward, difficult Eighth Year, the last thing he’d considered was the fact of Harry Potter’s existence.

Draco hadn’t thought for even half a second that Harry would have returned to Hogwarts alongside the ragged remnants of their school year. Harry was supposed to have been snapped up by the Aurors, or by the Ministry, and dropped head-first into some plum job. He was _supposed_ to be unveiling statues, kissing babies and winning ‘most fanciable’ awards.

He wasn’t supposed to have come back to plague Draco’s existence. 

Draco certainly hadn’t considered that Headmistress McGonagall – as enthusiastic as always about House unity – would have chosen to house the two of them together in a shared room.

As for knowing the other wizard’s quirks and foibles better than he did his own? If any wizard had told Draco that back in September, he most likely would have laughed in their face. For the past six years Harry had been an enigma to Draco. A fascinating, aggravating enigma. Of course, the two of them had shared plenty of lessons. They’d battled on the Quidditch Pitch and given each other filthy looks in the Dining Hall, but the real Harry – the living, breathing wizard – hadn’t really existed in Draco’s mind. 

Harry had only ever been an _idea:_ a stupid glittering git, beloved by their teachers or his tricky enemy that had ruined his family. He’d been the condescending arse that refused to shake his hand.Harry hadn’t been a _person._ Harry hadn’t hummed when he was interested in something. He hadn’t grumbled incessantly that he was hungry or cleaned his glasses whenever he was confused. Harry hadn’t spread out his legs beneath the table and taken up all the room beneath. Harry’s brown, freckled forearms hadn’t brushed against Draco’s own on the scratched wood of the school desks. Harry hadn’t made ill-thought out comments on who might win the Quidditch League or talked ceaselessly in his sleep. 

After two months of spending nearly every waking moment with Harry – and sleeping beside him at night – Draco knew Harry better than anyone else in his life. 

~~

Draco’s intimate knowledge of the Saviour had begun on a dull day back in March. Harry and he had been paired to work together for a History of Magic project. 

Binns had set them an intriguing task. Their Eighth Year class had been told their job was to research wand cores, a subject that Draco had always found captivating. The Professor had given Harry and he _dragon heartstrings_ for their specialist subject and it hadn’t taken Draco long to find out the basic history. _‘Dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power and were capable of the most flamboyant spells,’_ Draco had jotted down in his notebook, _‘and tend to learn more quickly than other wand cores.’_

It hadn’t felt like enough though.

Draco had wanted to understand how the heartstrings bonded with the wood – and how, together, they produced such a powerful synergy – and Harry hadn’t seemed to mind tagging along to the Library with him. The wild-haired wizard had even made a fairly intelligent suggestion: look at binding and bonding spells through history and see what they all had in common. Draco had thought that Harry’s idea had merited further investigation. 

As a result, Harry and he had been sat in the Restricted Section of Hogwarts Library with an ancient, dusty volume sat between the pair of them. Draco remembered how happy he had felt that day. He’d been reasonably sure that they’d just found the esoteric piece of magic that they’d been searching for. 

Draco had pointed it out to Harry. 

The Latin letters of the enchantment were dark in the midst of the dense, twisty text of the yellowed page. Harry had read the first two lines of the spell but Draco noticed that he’d struggled with it. Harry’s pronunciation of the Latin had been a little squiffy and then the green eyed wizard had paused, pondering at the meaning of one of the words. 

Draco – every bit as impatient as he usually was – had read the final two lines himself. 

It was only when he’d gotten to the very last two words that Draco had realised the profundity of the mistake he'd made. 

_Aeternum vinculum._

Roughly translated, those words meant eternal bond. 

The effects of the spoken sorcery had been immediate and very powerful indeed. Draco had felt it wash through every limb. Heat had raced from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes. He’d felt his tummy flip. His heart had throbbed and raced in his chest. Draco’s head had felt like it was going to split into pieces. Blood had rushed in his ears and Draco had wondered for a frightening second whether he was going to faint. 

A glowing cerulean blue cloud surrounded both Harry and he, glittering and swirling around both of their bodies and holding them in place. Harry had looked at Draco with utter surprise. The colour had blanched from the other man’s face and his eyes were wide and staring. He was clutching the book with white knuckled fingers. 

“What in Merlin’s _wand_ just happened?” Harry had gasped out, his voice small and tight. He cast his eyes around the Restricted Section but there wasn’t anyone else that had been similarly affected. The pair of them were entirely alone. “I felt that spell deep inside my bones! It knocked the bloody stuffing out of me!”

Draco hadn’t known what had happened. Biting back a sarcastic reply he’d reached for the book and traced his fingers over the words he’d just read aloud. 

_“As a core is to a wand,”_ Draco translated speedily, the words tripping over his tongue, _“We belong at each other’s side, in this life and beyond. As I am yours and you are mine, together we share an eternal bond-”_

“Please don’t tell me that you read that aloud!” Harry had interrupted, his voice full of panic. “Bloody hell, Malfoy! I thought you were supposed to be intelligent! That was our first lesson, back when we were eleven! _Never_ read an incantation aloud, especially if you don’t know what it does!”

Draco had felt his face redden with shame and disgrace. Draco _hadn’t_ learnt that lesson when he was eleven. He’d been taught it as a very small child. Malfoy Manor had a library that was full of ancient texts and arcane spells, not to mention his spoken Latin was almost flawless. Mother had taught him early on that you mustn’t ever read incantations aloud or you might face dire consequences.

Draco could scarcely believe that he’d made such a ridiculous mistake. He felt terribly foolish. “I didn’t read it _all,”_ he muttered, his excuse weak sounding even in his own ears. “I only completed it! You were the one who read the beginning!” 

~~

In the end, it hadn’t mattered a Groat which one of them had read what part of the incantation. 

Harry and he had rushed as fast as their legs could carry them to the Hospital Wing but that hadn’t changed their state of affairs in the least. Two wizards, compatible in their sexual preferences, of almost the same age and of similar magical ability had read an ancient bonding spell together and it had magicked them together without a fault.

Madam Pomfrey had tried a dozen different severing spells on them but each incantation had failed miserably. All Draco had felt when the witch had flicked and swished her wand was a weak pricking beneath his skin that faded in seconds. A Second Year charm would have had more effect on him. Neither wizard had felt anything close to magic of the magnitude they’d felt in the Library. 

“Of all the students in this school, of _course_ it had to be you pair,” Headmistress McGonagall had said on seeing their stricken faces. She had been summoned by Madam Pomfrey after the Head Nurse had run out of options. “Is it too much to ask for a single year of calm after everything this school – and my sanity – has suffered? Whatever were you both doing, reading Hobbe’s _Magikcal Anthology_ aloud? I can scarcely believe the folly of your actions!” 

Draco had watched as the Headmistress slashed her own wand through the air. The same cerulean blue as he’d seen before had rapidly filled the room before coalescing in the space between Potter and he. 

Headmistress McGonagall sighed and pursed her lips angrily. “There’s a famous saying,” she said quietly, “that what magic has put together, let no man put asunder! Your magical signatures must be very well-matched indeed, gentlemen, for this is one of the strongest bonds that I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing!

“What does it all mean?” Harry had asked, his voice sounding more vulnerable than Draco thought he had ever heard it. “The words of the spell said that we belonged at each other’s side, that we had an eternal bond-”

“And that’s exactly what you’ve created,” Headmistress McGonagall had said, some of the heat leaving her voice. “These spells were created over a thousand years ago, when our ancestors were persecuted. When a witch or wizard fell in love with a Muggle such bonds were often the only way for the lovers to convince their family they must be allowed to stay together.” The witch looked at both of them sadly. “Otherwise, I’m afraid, both parties would surely die.”

Draco had felt his heart drop down into his shoes. His Mother and Father had told him tales of such foolish wizards as a child and had expressly forbidden from ever making such a lifelong commitment himself. He’d been taught that such magic was ancient, inviolable and likely unbreakable. McGonagall had performed several more diagnostic spells and had only proved what Draco had already known, deep in his heart. 

Harry and he had magically bonded and were, to all intents, bound together. Their magic had woven in knots, making them one wizard inside two bodies. Their bond was deeper and more consuming than any marriage, for any time apart was both physically and mentally painful. 

Draco had found his muscles ached horribly whenever Harry went off to lessons he didn’t share. Even worse was the crippling loneliness that coursed through him whenever the dark haired wizard left his side. The most elementary of magical spells hadn’t worked without Harry’s presence and sleeping without him had been nigh on impossible. Harry had felt exactly the same as he. They were bonded and likely to stay that way.

~~

If Draco were to be entirely truthful with himself, the inconvenience of their bond hadn’t been as horrendous as he’d imagined that it might be, back on that first March day. 

Harry and he shared most N.E.W.T classes so it hadn’t really disturbed their studies to any giant degree. If anything, Draco hoped his presence might be improving rather than hindering Harry’s grades in Potions, Charms and Transfiguration. The two of them had begun sitting together, sharing their textbooks and even making one single set of notes. It had seemed like a waste of time to do otherwise. 

There were other benefits too. Draco had to grudgingly admit that his skills on the Quidditch Pitch had vastly developed by having Harry stuck to his side, as had his dulling and defensive magical speed. He’d never met a wizard that could cast an _Expelliarmus_ as fast as Harry could, so Draco had taken to observing everything he did during practical lessons. As a consequence, Draco hadn’t ever gotten so many ‘Exceeds Expectations’ in D.A.D.A lessons before and he felt rather proud of the achievement.

Another odd effect of their bond had been the way that their friendship group had melded together. Neither Harry’s, or his own friends for that matter, had been willing to give up on the time they spent together and so they’d all been forced to socialise as a group. Draco thought it entirely odd – and a little bit brilliant, actually – just how _easily_ deep-rooted House loyalties could vanish after a few shots of Firewhisky. 

Pansy had finally found a chess opponent worthy of her in Ron Weasley. Milly and Hermione had discovered a mutual love of scruffy cats and even Blaise had gotten friendly with Neville Longbottom. It was quite the sight to see the two of them debating the magical merits of some mournful looking weed.

It had been Harry himself that’d been the biggest surprise of all, though. 

Harry hadn’t been the pretentious, pompous hero that Draco had always imagined he was. Everything about Harry Potter had been a surprise. He was endlessly kind to younger students, helping them master their flying manoeuvres or cheering them up whenever they were homesick. 

Harry was funny too. He had a dry, amusing sense of humour that Draco couldn’t help but warm to. Harry read awful adventure novels by Muggle authors and he danced around their rooms whenever the Wireless played his favourite songs. His rhythm was woeful but Harry didn’t care. He danced on, regardless. 

Harry had dimples whenever he laughed and Harry laughed often. He made Draco’s Earl Grey tea with just the perfect amount of milk. He talked to Draco whenever he felt blue about his future or guilty about his past. Harry had even listened to Draco’s worries about his Father, sentenced to Azkaban for many years to come. Harry had been the biggest surprise of all. At some unknown point over the last two months, Draco knew that he had fallen head over heels in love with him. 

Draco had fallen in love with Harry’s humming, the way he cleaned his glasses and the way he fidgeted when he was bored. 

Draco loved Harry. 

Draco loved Harry for _everything_ he was. He loved him _exactly_ as he was. 

Unfortunately for Draco, Harry hadn’t said a word about wanting to halt their search for a bond-severing spell. Between themselves, Hermione and Pansy, they’d managed to scour every tangibly relevant book in the Hogwarts Library, as well as Flooing home at the weekend to see if the Library at Malfoy Manor held any answers. Not one of the books had shown them any kind of resolution though. Not one had helped.

As far as Draco was concerned, when Headmistress McGonagall had said _‘what magic has put together, let no man put asunder,’_ the witch had never said anything more truthful. In nine weeks their research had only garnered one small triumph: the discovery that, were Harry or he to meet an untimely demise, the other wizard wouldn’t simply die on the spot.

That was certainly good information to know, although the knowledge hadn’t stopped Draco’s heart from racing every time Harry did something reckless or stupid on his broomstick. 

~~

Harry was humming again and Draco bit back a groan. 

He knew that he needed to tell Harry about the love he was feeling, but he didn’t know how or what to say. They’d always had such a combative, abrasive relationship in the past and the words stuck in his throat like a bezoar stone. True, the other wizard hadn’t seemed disgusted by Draco or his habits over the last few weeks but then one never knew. Harry might laugh in his face or perhaps he’d be embarrassed; horrified by the idea of their being more than just friends. 

If Harry was humming then whatever Harry was reading had piqued his interest.

“What were you reading about?” Draco wondered aloud, nodding at the parchment before Harry. “I could tell you were enjoying it. You were making-”

“That silly little noise,” Harry interrupted, making a self-deprecating smile. “Sorry if I disturbed you. I don’t even realise that I’m doing it. Hermione used to moan about it when we were revising for our O.W.Ls. Said that it drove her round the bloody bend.” He smiled softly. “I’ll try and stop if it’s bugging you.”

Draco shook his head. “It wasn’t disturbed by it,” he replied. “I was genuinely interested in what you were reading.”

Harry looked back at Draco thoughtfully. His green eyes were very bright in the thin Library wandlight and Draco watched as he absent-mindedly tucked one of his unruly tufts of hair behind his ear. Harry was entirely beautiful – both inside and out – and Draco couldn’t understand how he’d never seen it before now. The fading light reflected through the thick panes of the windows and painted Harry in sepia tones. There was such a simple joy in just being here at Harry’s side. 

“I was reading about dragon heartstrings,” Harry replied, his voice gentle in the near-silent Library. “And the bonds that they form with the wood of the wand. If a wand has dragon heartstrings then they bind quickly with their new owner.” Harry paused, pointing out a word in the text. “They change _allegiance_. That word got me thinking, Draco. Allegiance means loyalty, cooperation-”

“And commitment.” Draco cut in, finishing Harry’s sentence. 

“Precisely,” Harry said. “ _Allegiance_. That got me thinking about _our_ bond… I know it was an accident, Draco but these past nine weeks? We’ve had to have an allegiance to each other, haven’t we? A commitment to each other. We’ve had to cooperate. Share our friends, share our lessons and our time. We’ve had to look out for each other.” Harry paused and let out a long, slow breath. “And I'll admit: that was the _last_ thing I wanted from this year. I wanted freedom. My whole life has belonged to other people, Draco! It belonged to the Dursleys, to Dumbledore, even bloody _Voldemort_ -”

Draco felt like his heart was going to break. Harry had sensed his feelings and he was telling Draco in no uncertain terms that they weren't returned. Harry was a bright sun who radiated heat and love. Draco was a cold, barren moon, destined to forever hide in Harry’s orbit. 

Draco swivelled his eyes back onto Harry’s own. He needed to listen and consider everything that the other wizard was saying, even if it shattered him in the process. Harry was talking and Draco owed it to him to understand what he was trying to say. 

“-but our allegiance isn’t like any of those relationships.” Harry said, his voice gaining urgency with every word he spoke. “ _Our_ bond feels like safety. It feels like care, Draco. I don’t have a family – I mean, I have the Weasleys, and I do love them – but they’re not my home. Not in the way that I’ve felt with you. You’ve been my _home_ , Draco. Been my place of safety. These past nine weeks have been everything I never knew I needed.”

The breath stuttered in Draco’s chest. He could hardly believe the truth of what Harry was saying. He searched Harry’s gaze, looking for evidence of deceit or falsity but there was none. Harry was being honest. He was speaking from the heart. Draco swallowed, gathering together all the loose ends of his courage. He knew that he needed to be braver now than he’d ever been before in his life. 

Draco cleared his throat and began to speak. 

“I think that we’ve spent a lot of time over these last weeks trying to solve the mysteries of our bond,” Draco replied, letting his fingers drift lightly over Harry’s knuckles. The other wizard shivered under his caress. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to find a way to reduce its potency or even sever it. But I… Well, I’ve been wondering if the pair of us have been perhaps been going about the issue in the wrong way? Our N.E.W.T exams start in two weeks, Harry. Both of us need to make plans. We need to start thinking about what our lives might look like when we finish Hogwarts.”

Draco paused. He felt nervous about the words leaving his mouth – the last thing he wanted to do was frighten Harry by coming on too strongly, or – Merlin forbid, make him feel pressured or trapped – but these were words that needed to be aired. 

“Perhaps we need to think about giving this bond of ours a try, Harry,” Draco continued, cringing at the quiver in his voice. He knew that these were the most significant words he’d ever say. He was asking Harry to share his life with him. He was asking him to live with him and marry him and grow old with him, all in one single sentence. Draco was asking Harry for an allegiance that would last all of their days. “I know this is a lot to ask,” he continued, “but the promise we mistakenly made? I’d like for us to try honouring it.”

Draco turned his body to face Harry’s own and took his hand in his, knitting their fingers together. Harry’s hand was warm and calloused. Draco felt the tremble of their powerful shared magic in his veins. His tummy felt like it was full of Wrackspurts and his legs trembled with excitement and nerves.

Harry looked down at their joined fingers. “I didn’t know that was something that you’d considered,” Harry answered. “Hermione said that we’re too young to even think about it … That our history is too turbulent. That we’re sharing some mutual fantasy, brought on by proximity. I don’t agree with her, though. I _don’t_. She doesn’t know you like I've come to know you. I think I’d like to give our bond a try, Draco. I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

The two of them kissed. 

Harry’s lips were dry and chapped and they opened for Draco as smoothly as a spell. The other wizard tasted like the peppermint sweets he’d been sucking on and the sweet pumpkin juice that he’d drunk with his dinner. Draco tangled his fingers into Harry’s dishevelled hair and he revelled in the small, breathy moans that the other wizard made. He pulled Harry to him until the other man slid onto his lap. It came as no surprise that Harry was every bit as brilliant a kisser as he was at every other thing in his life. Draco’s skin quivered. His senses felt sharp as a pure sparkling magic raced through him. 

_This_ was was happiness felt like. Harry was his home too. Harry was his place of safety. 

“I love you too,” Draco gasped into Harry’s skin as the two of them reluctantly pulled apart. “I can’t believe that we’ve wasted so much time. We should have been kissing from the very first moment. I should have spent every minute of everyday loving you.”

Harry nodded. His eyes were blown wide with desire and his cheeks were flushed. “We’ve got forever to make up for it,” he answered, wrapping his arms around Draco and pulling him close once again. “We’ve got the rest of our lives.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading xxxx


End file.
